When “The End” is brought up in conversation most people think of a science fiction novel or movie portraying it as some Earth shattering event – boom and it is over. The almost certain truth behind this is that it will not be the Earth, the Sun, or solar system that gets it. The real end will more than likely come with human civilization as we know it coming to an abrupt closure. What you as a person are in danger of is very likely not a mass extinction of all of human life, but the crumbling and complete fall of the structures and foundation that holds up all that most every human being depends on for survival.

There is an old saying that ‘no man is an island.’ It indeed takes a rare, almost unique person who can boast that they are free of dependency of the components of modern day life to make it alone. If and when human society collapses, someone’s chances of post True SHTF (TSHTF) survival will be partially in proportion to just how self reliant they can become. The other ratio will be just how well someone can adapt to a new world void of the conveniences which have become totally expected by the masses.

Many will say to the themselves, “here we go again with another doomsday prophesy that will again fail to manifest itself.”

So what makes this warning any different than those of the past? This is NOT some forewarning of any imminent mega society ending event(s) such as World War 3, an economic collapse, super virus outbreak, colossal solar flare, supervolcano erupting, or some other equally awful horror. This is about understanding what you are doing as a person, a parent, a son or daughter, a friend. If you awoke one morning and learned that a catastrophic event had broken loose, how well prepared (or how totally unprepared) are you?

Anyone doubting just how terrible life can be need only experience longer term (more than 3 days) power outages at anytime of year, but especially during temperature and weather extremes. These losses of power happen all the time, EVERYWHERE. Being brutally honest, can anyone say to themselves that that life without power for weeks or months or longer will be anything less than awful for the general population? This is a mere taste of what an implosion would be like. The frailness of the infrastructure of any country is incredible. Few understand or care to think about this, because the prevailing attitude for most is, “it will always be there for me and work for me.”

Again, this is not to convince anyone of a specific event such as a widespread cyber attack that destroys the electric grid or a wide variety of natural disasters that can and do sometimes flatten what someone depends on working to live. The internet is full of disaster scenarios and even some probabilities of occurrences. The vulnerability to any place on the planet is there, as recent hurricanes have proven all too well. It is about how awful life threatening events, a whole host of too many to mention, that ends your modern day life as you know it. This does not mean it has to end your life and your family’s lives though.

When people think of losing modern day conveniences they think of losing their cell phones, their access to games and other entertainment, mobile devices; in other words, FUN devices. The list of just how much will be lost that modern humans have become totally reliant on to live is absolutely staggering. With a civilization collapse you can expect much to be lost immediately, then gradually over the next few hours to days that list will continue growing and expanding to frightening levels.

The following list exemplifies just how much a person has to lose if they have failed to prepare themselves for emergencies. After a large enough catastrophe, the recovery time frame can be very long term, or potentially never for certain critical needs.

1. No clean water coming out of the faucets to drink.

2. No hot or cold water to shower, bathe with or wash your hands.

3. No washing machines or dishwashers to clean your clothes or dirty dishes.

4. No flushing toilets.

5. No heat or air conditioning, not even fans.

6. No light at night.

7. No grocery stores or home delivered food, no restaurants, no food period.

8. No trash pick up of waste that will mound up and collect strong diseases.

9. No medications, especially antibiotics, or simple over the counter remedies either.

10. No vitamin or mineral supplements to help keep your body from breaking down.

11. No 911 help service at all.

12. No mechanical transportation with any fuel to run anything.

13. No protection, no law enforcement.

14. No communications; no internet, no TV, no radio, no clue what is going on.

15. No phones, no way of talking to people miles away, cut off and blind.

16. No refrigeration, no freezers, no food preservation from going bad quickly.

17. No stoves or microwaves to cook food.

18. No easy prepare meals.

19. No toilet paper, and no good alternative to toilet paper to those unaware.

20. No feminine toiletries.

21. No pest control against animals and insects that are very hazardous to your health.

22. No utilities; no gas, no electricity, no way to make anything function in your home.

23. No advanced warning of weather, war, or other life threatening events.

24. No odor control from rotting wastes and rotting corpses that stink too bad to mention.

25. No healthy food to maintain proper nutrition, leading to sickness and weakness.

26. No proper basic hygiene and bacteria control on the body, especially the teeth.

27. No repair of tooth cavities or other life threatening oral problems.

28. No pain control, no aspirin, no way to ease pain like from a bad tooth.

29. No basic first aid to treat minor injuries that will become major.

30. No replacements for worn out clothes, shoes, socks, underwear.

31. No replacement parts to fix something that is broken.

32. No soap or disinfectants.

33. No outdoor protection from the elements such as sunburns.

34. No safety net that society provides. No welfare, no assistance, no government food.

35. No sexual protection from the wide array of deadly diseases that are transmittable.

36. No treatment for the sick and dying.

37. No modern power tools to repair all that will be broken, no workable anything.

38. No way of cleaning up messes that range from irritating to hazardous.

39. No care, no help, no chance for medical needs of infants and children.

40. No protection against rabies.

41. No means of easing chronic depression that will be very widespread and intense.

42. No outlets of entertainment to distract people from the overwhelming despair and fear.

43. No familiar and basic everyday needs that give comfort and security to most people.

44. No way of getting to family and friends because of distance, or too dangerous to even try.

45. No respectable way of laying to rest someone dear to you.

46. No way of protecting yourself and family from roaming gangs without enough firepower.

47. No workable answers from rudimentary to complex problems that will present themselves often.

48. No calling up your local professional help to repair something essential to you.

49. No feeling of being civilized as losing everything and becoming dirty and unkept does this to anyone.

50. No way out without having prepared for such an enormous downfall of society.

The need for society and human civilization to remain as close to “normal” and fully functioning cannot be over emphasized as it relates to the life and death of nearly 100% of our population if these systems cease to operate. The more modern a country is, the farther the fall will be to the bottom when the infrastructure fails to SUPPORT the people. The above 50 losses paint a very bleak picture and show the likelihood of a mass die off as almost certain with the breakdown of the foundation that keeps the masses upright. This doesn’t have to occur to anyone willing to just say no to this addiction of letting society mollycoddle everyone into helpless baby birds unable to live without constant feedings.

To prevent the obvious helplessness of anyone and to strengthen the resolve and readiness of those whom choose to prepare, one must start right now and continue to ready themselves for the day when human civilization will either partially cave in or fully disintegrate into dust.

So what is the answer to someone that wants to survive an end to modern human civilization?

First and foremost someone must be willing to do what is necessary and have the conviction to stick to the need for survival. Each survival situation is vastly different – city vs. country life, arid vs. humid areas, frigid vs. hot climates, etc., etc. In other words, no survival plan fits all. Our efforts should be focused on having the tools, supplies and skills to cope with a mega, or even lighter weight, disaster.

This is where the internet comes in. While you still have access to it, utilize it. SHTFplan.com has many excellent ideas and plans in the archives on survival. Other sites all over the internet and many excellent books on the subject are everywhere. Some excellent resources we recommend:

(There are tons of great sites out there, so please feel free to share your favorites in the comments section)

It is the commitment to go that extra mile to obtain this information that is best for you as the individual. Then you as a person, part of a family, whatever, must do what is suggested and best for you with this wealth of information available to you before anything happens and all is lost. You and your family has to want to NOT be stuck in the sinking of the tar that society will become someday. Say to yourself that ‘I won’t accept being the individuals that have nothing’ and that ‘I will act on my desire and need to survive and won’t delay one moment.’

Even seasoned preppers and survivalists can ALWAYS learn that much more and should not procrastinate obtaining that special need that still eludes them.

Today not tomorrow, because time could be running out faster than anyone realizes.

Copyright Information: This content has been contributed to SHTFplan by a third-party or has been republished with permission from the author. Please contact the author directly for republishing information.

Somehow, hundreds of thousands if not millions of years ago, man climbed out of the trees and stood on two legs; or so they say.

The ascent of man has been a long and winding and brutal road. If everything changed in a flash tomorrow, some of US would still make it.

The strong will survive. The fittest will survive. Those who can adapt will not die in the “Great Culling”. Those who can adapt will have a strong connection to their Creator and the Earth which HE has given US.

Until then who is on DWTS this week? And has Kate The Commoner had her baby yet? 🙂

Why so many thumbs down to this comment? Do you all actually think that some republican will come and rescue our society and make everything all better? Or that people will organize enough to stand up and remove the aging hippies that are hell bent on destroying this great nation before they go to the great Zen cave beyond?

Sorry folks, I prey for an EMP and somehow the good will then rise up assist the hippies to there cave and correct the fucking chaos they have created. Think I’m wrong? Show me the mighty militia standing up or will it be Gov. Christie?

I would like to give much credit to Mac for refining some of this article. Anyone else with ideas that can help the preppers and others out there, I highly encourage you send in something to Mac. He can do much with these ideas to make articles that can help all of us for what is coming. I don’t know if everyone agrees with me on this, but I have never seen so much ready to fall down on us. There are more potential disasters now than most people have ever seen in their lifetimes. It is incredible that so few can see this, and even fewer act to safeguard themselves and families. Sad and pathetic at the same time.

i thought the article was very good ,but what you just said is on the lips of everyone i talk to “that they have never seen so much turmoil at one time” maybe the problem with some of the nay sayers on this channel is there age ,i have enough life under my belt to tell you it hasent ever been like this in my life ,or even in my fathers life ,and from listening to my grandparents talk of there life during the depresion ,even then it wasent like this ,everything is upside down nothing makes any sense

BI, great article. The statement:’The more modern a country is, the farther the fall will be to the bottom when the infrastructure fails to SUPPORT the people.’ is so true. Would only add: that the more dependant people are on gizzmos (electronics, eating out, entertainment, etc…) the fall/dispare is just as great.

@BI,
Well done. This is quite a list of negative consequences that face the ill-prepared, or the non-prepared. However; I also see it as a checklist that a prepper can use to make sure their preps are moving along and getting done. There are a couple of things in the list that I hadn’t considered and now I will prep for them, thanks for the ideas/reminders. Specifically items 12 and 31 remind me I need extra tires and tubes, and a patch kit for bicycles. Item 27 reminds me to have a complete dental cleaning and checkup, as well as an eye exam. Get an couple of pairs of glasses.

In your list of calamities I expected to see earthquakes as you really pay attention to them and keep us informed:-)

That’s right, Be Informed. Yesterday, on someone’s website they were talking about being so overwhelmed by all the stuff that’s in front of us, coming our way, that it was almost too much to bear at times, trying to cope with it all… and having friends laugh sometimes at them. I think we all know the feeling.

Scientists from all sorts of disciplines– from climate scientists to anthropologists, to economists to peak oil experts to environmentalists– they all say the same thing: we’re on the edge of collapse! To not prepare is pure folly.

As much as pressing restart on the system sounds like a great idea the reality of the actual event sounds truly horrific. Yes, plenty of society’s parasites would be weeded out but so would so many of our nation’s decent folks.

This article was sobering. I think the key to successful survival is mobility, agility, flexibility, many ‘light sites’ w/ multiple storage caches rather than one main heavily fortified residence. Also, camo and perception of vacancy and zero goods.
Just a thought.

Quick reality check. Being prepared, clam, and focused are better than the alternatives, but no guarantee that “you will make it”.

From my memory of Selco’s descriptions, very little made sense, and Fate seemed to have no accounting system for who was intelligent, good, “prepared”, etc. Being part of a group and blending in / hiding out seemed to be top reasons he mentioned for why he made it.

And to be honest, that doesn’t give me a lot of hope because I don’t have any family, and very few friends where I live.

Many things Selco said only pretained to his situation, in his area, at that period of time. But, like any information, there are many valuable lessons to be learned from him. I learned a few things from him. Even if the things I learned have no direct impact on any situation I may encounter, his lessons are valuable, in that he has provided concerns to be aware of. I will continue to reccomend his lessons.

In a combat situation, the one that lives and the one that dies can be a lot of luck.
In the situations for which we are prepping, luck will still play a big part in who survives, but the better the preps, the better the luck.
Be well

I think along with a calm mindset ready to handle the situation and keep you family safe and secure should be another darker mindset. It isn’t pleasant but you really need to think about how far you will go to protect your family from thugs and from basic starvation. You probably would kill someone who was actively trying to harm your love ones. But would you kill that same person if it meant saving your family from starvation? It isn’t pretty but it should be thought out before hand.

Agreed- but I’m reminded of a quote from Napolean. “The mental is to the physical as three is to one”. Yes, the strong will survive, but I think mental strength (or lack thereof) will be the deciding factor.

Try to avoid trouble if you can.
If you can’t avoid them, out-smart them.
If you can’t out-smart them, fight.
If you can’t out-fight them, Run.
If you can’t out-run them, then try to take a few with you.

No disrespect but man did not climb out of the trees, he was put here whole and standing on two legs when God created Adam and Eve. If you believe in our Creator who for me is God, then evolution is not even a remote possibility.

Faith has a way of getting one through the most troubling times. When your time is up, then it is up but meanwhile God will guide you to do what you should while on this earth, if you are willing to walk through doors that he has opened for you.

I thought long and hard about purchasing an item that was quite expensive but perhaps necessary if things get bad and I prayed on it. Very soon afterwards, I had a bit of a windfall and I knew in my heart that it was there for me to purchase this item. I could have bought it all along but it was hard to justify so for me, it was a door that opened and I walked through it. I am so glad that I did.

I agree. You can’t have evolution and the creation. personally I believe it was an intervention when we were given genes that allowed speech, spirituality and a few more. If Revelations and the Lourdes Marion apparition are to be believed then food is not the only thing you need plenty of to get to the new Jerusalem.

Sorry SD, disagree with you. Who are we to limit God? Is God not big enough to use evolution? Is there some reason that God cannot have created Science and used it to make everything? I’m not saying he discovered the Science, but that he made it.

We have only 2 things as people of faith: personal experience (if you want, you can include the Holy Spirit in this) and the Bible and both of them are scientifically and emotionally subjective. They cannot be proven or dis proven. That’s the heart of faith.

We can agree on the apparent meaning of a certain passage based upon our present society and historical information; everything we are colors what we see in the Bible. And this changes our perceptions. Case in point, even what is there (or not there) was decided by a council of men, not written in stone tablets. We just happen to believe that these men were acting on God’s input; that something so important wouldn’t be corrupted.

Do I want to believe that I am more special than something randomly created by just generations of generations of random gene mixing? Heck yes. Am I willing to proclaim that God doesn’t work that way or that God CAN’T work that way? I’m arrogant but not that arrogant. One of the greatest scientific minds of history was a man of faith; Albert Einstein is known worldwide for his major advances of Science in Physics.

He was so very wise and yet one of the few scientists to truly advance our understanding of the world.

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.”

Depending on what SHTF event happens everyone will need to adapt yo survive. But the basic principles stay the same. Providing food and water, shelter, the ability to stave off disease. Being able to defend yourself your loved ones and your property. Now you can prep for all of this, however you need to be flexibile, you never know what circumstances might arrive that you haven’t prepared for.

The invention of firearms has somewhat turned the whole “the strongest survive” thing on it’s head. The most adaptable among us have the best chance. I take it you mean Kate the commoner who was hospitalized for morning sickness. All UK commoners can expect that kind of care, right?

Honestly, for folks in an urban situation or even some suburban ‘postage stamp lots’ locations, all of this would be unmanageable. No places for growing a year’s harvest. No place for an outhouse. No surface water or a way to drill for a well. Etc. etc. However, man didn’t always live in cities. And for tens of thousands of years, we survived. Will 8 Billion survive? Nope. Just like Ethiopia or the Gobi or Siberia, the land will only hold so many, and more than that will die off, simply because you can’t provide for them on what the land will produce. Will children die of disease? Yes. Will adults die from childbirth, or farm accidents, or misadventure? Yes. Will we need to learn the skills to survive again? Yes. But saying that it can’t be done is defeatist. So much of what we have ‘lost’ in day to day survival skills aren’t really lost at all. They survive in books. How do you make rope? How do you birth a colt or calf? How do you make yogurt? How do you make penicillin? Those are all things you can read in books, today or when the time comes. What has been learned can be learned again. How do you dispose of the dead, or of trash that piles up? You can bury them, or burn them, or set aside a special barren place where no one lives and take it all there. How do you brush your teeth? You can use ashes and a green twig. How do you get hot water? You boil it on the wood stove you have to use to cook food and keep warm. How do you deal with the terminally ill? You comfort them, and strengthen yourself to deal with tragedy, as our ancestors had to. Your great, great grandparents likely lost a half-dozen kids before the age of 5 before the had one that survived to marry and have kids of their own. Do you know what that is like? You will learn to deal with the loss. Of kids, of parents, of friends and loved ones. You will get through it and survive. It will hurt, but you will do it. The ones who can’t cope will die. The ones who can’t figure out how to adapt and overcome all the hardships will fall. It is inevitable. Nothing can stop it and truthfully you shouldn’t want it to stop. The planet can only support so many people without technology. If they die, you and yours may live. Simple attrition. Less of them means more for you. Sound cold and inhuman? Nope, just survival of the fittest. Don’t get cocky. YOU may not measure up and might end up in the ashcan of history too. All you can do is learn what you can and prepare. The rest is luck.

I still say look to the past to see how to survive in these SHTF scenarios — if people could survive for X amount of thousands of years prior to the advent of today’s technology, so can we. Our biggest foe is nuclear energy — if any of the multiple scenarios occur that cause multiple meltdowns, you may not want to survive in that post-apocalypse nightmare.

I am that guy you pass every day holding a sign that says: “The End Is Coming”.
Now my sign reads: “The End Is Here”.
And still you will ignore me.
Are you ready?
Ready or Not it’s coming like a freight train out of control it’s barreling down hill straight at you.
And thanks to our professional politicians (the best money can buy) they are stepping on the gas, MORE SPEED, MORE SPEED it’s coming right at you.
I hope you are ready?

every time we see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel we find out it’s just a freight train coming our way.
it’s a recovery/no it’s not,they lied about the numbers.
we have decimated the terrorist/no,we killed one or two of them,they regrouped and are now a bigger threat.and on and on and on.

Peterson, if you have the right kind of guns and a shitload of ammo to protect your supplies, you’d be surprised how much your chances of survival will increase. If you DON’T put your whole heart, body, and soul into prepping, then you don’t want to live sand most likely, YOU WON’T!

You have NO idea what the worst kinda HELL that could be brought upon yourself… I asked to write an actical on how a Government would come kick your ass if they really wanted to….. it aint good Pal! Time to re-think your plans there Mister!…

Flexibility is an important part of any prep plan. Prep like you can bug in, plan to have a bug out if necessary and prep your brain to survive if all your supplies are wiped out. That should serve you well in most cases.

Knowledge is power, while our preps may be taken our knowledge can’t be taken. I know a lot sound high and mighty but we all have fears. It’s better to show no weakness, why would I advertise my shortcomings?

In the military, if there is an important survival task,(like first aid, cleaning or maintaining your weapon/gear) they will have you do it over and over until it becomes a habit. It is boring as hell but it works. So identify one task that is important and start repeating it ( with quality). When you are sick of it, do it some more. Then move on to another task and repeat, repeat, repeat. Gardening, hunting, water collection, food preservation, clothing repair, the list goes on. In time your life skills will become a habit to be used when needed.

Permit to add to C’s comments, having been a 20 plus year member of the military. The idea is to have you so well trained at certain tasks that you will do it right regardless of circumstances. For example, if you come under a chemical attack, and some one is screaming, GAS, GAS, GAS! – your body is already reacting, getting the mask on (correctly) before you have the time to say, Oh S–t!

An amatuer practices till he gets it right.
A professional practices till he can not get it wrong.

Wilson, you might check other sites that have covered that recently. I think Rawles did- anyone else remember? My brain’s still Swiss-cheesed from grief.

For those who want to talk about mental prep, keep in mind that something may hit you far more intensely that you would ever have believed ahead of time. I thought I could handle the death of a pet, but it seems to have shaken my world (in the immediate aftermath)as strongly as the death of a parent. In time I am sure that will change. Meanwhile, my faith and prepping mentality are helping me cope and having things to work on and other things to think about help too.

You may as well pop a top, load a bowl, make peace with whatever diety you believe in, relax, and accept your fate…Or, maybe grow a brain and a spine, and survive.

I’d wager many people will commit suicide, rather than face a scary unknown. Most of the people of today are not capable of facing the pressures faced by those who toiled and bled for thier Freedom, and a better life, let alone survived hard times.

I’ve been around here FOREVER!!!!! I just don’t kiss ass everyday like you do!….. come on now! I was Militia – before the militia was cool…. understand why I don’t like a cut and paste news story yet? LOL

Welcome to the darkside of SURVIVAL Braveheart…… and capitalize your damn name for once will ya! STAND UP BITCH!

Petersen, what makes you think I kiss ass? I’ve never bowed down to any government official in my whole life. I’ve never accepted anything that any government official or the mainstream media said on any topic as gospel. never trusted government for anything. go to MSM and you find nothing but ‘cut and paste’ stories. SOME sources in the alternative media are questionable and have even been proven to be as unreliable as anyone in MSM. you just have to surf the web from one site to the next and especially know how to read between the lines. I know how to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. You assume an awful lot.

Careful braveheart. As much as I’d like to think he’s gained something important from this site, peterson didn’t say he was starting to like anything here, he just stumbled on something he agreed with. It was bound to happen some time. A person just can’t lose that much venom in an instant—it’s still there, waiting to bite.

JustMe, I think you’re right. I believe there will be a shocking amount of suicides in the initial phase of post-SHTF, not to mention the murders, rapes, rioting, etc. Yes, far too many people will not be able to handle the pressures of doing without what they currently enjoy right now. If you’ve never read it, click on the above link to BI’s previous article, “How Horrific Will It Be For The Nonprepper?”. I highly recommend it. BI has a remarkable insight into what the nonpreppers can expect when their world comes to an end. braveheart

It won’t feel short if you’re starving and your family is starving too. It won’t feel short if your children are crying because they’re hungry and you have nothing to give them. You can die from starvation in 45 – 61 days. If you’re getting some food it can take much longer.

If you get fats and protein (essentially low carbing) you can avoid blood sugar swings and the raging appetite they bring. Nuts, seeds (sunflower, flax, chia and sesame), jerky, whey powder- any other storable fat/protein combination food would be better for famine prep than grains, dried fruits and sugars if you have to chose between the two.

Having a knowledge base of locally available nuts and seeds (e.g. acorns, which many people don’t realize you can eat, pine and maple seeds too) can come in handy as well.

Early pioneers had a short life expectancy but they were survivals and did survived under extreme conditions. Human is generally very adoptive to his her new environment of living and such can be demonstrated to the extend of becoming savages. I think being prepared is an absolute prerequisite to be able to survive but again with a lump sum of all of the above events (all at once) the survival rate would be in a low single digit for 98% + of the population. The remaining 1 to 2 percents won’t and shouldn’t expect a long term survival cycle. Too be honest with you when I read the above list, I asked myself if I really wanted to survive such scenarios and suffer. And shit I am a prepare as well (lol).

Surviving, waiting on the sidelines, watching the world fall apart. I hope that everyone is starting to take this seriously, the outcome does not look promising.
Thanks for asking….
“If you are not prepping, your just inepting”.

No this, no that. No no no no no nothing. Utterly depressing and worn to the bone. Just be thankful for what you got because you have a lot more going for yourself than you can even imagine, that goes for everybody alive, no matter your station in life.

as i was going through the “no” list, i realized that about 75% of these critical problems are either already accounted for, eliminated, or rendered irrelevant by the daily regimens of living completely off the grid in a remote location as i have had the opportunity to do over the past several years. proactive anticipation of needs and preparation is, of course critical. what is absolutely essential however is a dependable and cohesive community. very difficult, though not impossible by any means, to live out here by yourself. one of the main difficulties is the care of the animals. there is a herd of goats and sheep here as well as chickens. and the company of the strong and faithful dogs here is an absolute necessity also.(and a great blessing!) it’s truly amazing though how resourceful you become in the presence of absolute necessity. one of the main issues that might arise when TSHTF is the exposure on the roads and highway when the need of occasional and sometimes repeated interface with the small town 17 miles away. arises. best not to travel alone. good luck, friends.

My thoughts exactly. Build for the worst case situation, have a good team, plan to outlast most people for 1-2 years, and be set up to function as if it is 1810 after the first 1-2 years. Us folks that are doing this will make it if it ends up like this. Good list BI… makes people think. I installed a composting toilet in our second building for a no water flush toilet. A good well with a flow jack back up. An active spring which I have tested every 6 months to be sure…. (after the fall I can use my solar distiller I built from the “sunshine to Dollars” book). It will be hard but we will make it with teamwork, fait and knowledge.

that’s the spirit! and that’s what life is all about in its great pleasures and pains. what carries you through the difficult times is the willingness to embrace new life and fading life in all of its wondrous and mysterious dimensions. above all, life!

Thank you BI for such an indepth look at what people will possibly not have available, that they take so much for granted. If you have a farm or country background, you have been exposed to being self sufficient…and dealing with unexpected crisis…long work hours, little rest, having to be resourceful…our country’s citizens, as a whole, have been so removed from the farm life or gardening, too many honestly will not even know how to do much of anything to be self-resourceful. But I bet they know who they will run to to try and get someone to “take care” of them..(allowing that there is no FEMA, etc around) They will go to the people that they know…know how to work, cope, solve problems, raise food, etc Your list is so good for people to read, because it will make them have to think….about things that they have probably not even considered..ever. So, Chuck Baldwin, once a year, does an article on preparations people should make for ‘trying’ times. I suggest people make copies of it and hand them to those that you know for them to read. He covers it all so well…he is very credible…here is the direct website for his 2013 “lists”.. http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin762.htm it was done, 7-18-13 (would not hurt to tell some people that are close to you, that they need to read this and be responsible for themselves…and give them a copy of your long lists…just might wake them up a bit)

Do this, count 10 random cars while in traffic, look at the people driving; and pick the ones that could hunt, kill animals for food,fish or be creative in an emergency. The old, weak and young are out,the medicated(doctor wise)out, drug heads out, the fat are out, the stupid well.. and that leaves with your survivors. anyone that is not a survivor will be S.O.L. ! I did this lately and the first 9 cars were S.O.L., last one was a construction worker. This lazy push button society is going to fall real, real hard. You are on your own! wake up or fall, will you meet the challenge or beg for scraps ?

The old are out? My ass…I’m fat, both my grandmothers were fat and they both lived to mid 90’s. One was climbing up a ladder to check out her roof when she was about 80. Don’t judge on appearance. I have known too many skinny people develop cancer and die early. My husband is older than me. He has double hernias and he can outwork much younger people. He just pushes the guts back in and keeps going. We old people are ornery and persistent.

He had the first one done years ago, reinjured it. When the sign-up time comes for medicare this fall, he is going to get additional coverage. He will have them done this winter. He is a real tuff bird. We do realize that they could strangle.

dr colt, I counted 10 random cars while in traffic, I looked at them and I saw several great fire tenders, one wood gatherer, two cooks, a seamstress, three wood choppers, and of course, one wench. It’s not as bad as you see it. Imho.
Now go give LSB a Thumbs Up.

I found a similar thing myself out of the ten I saw two babysitters five weed pullers a goat milker/chicken feeder and three older guys that are up most all night anyway that would be just perfect for perimiter guard.

Im 47 and most of my budies are about the same give or take a few yrs, we all end up at the same deer camp as part of a tradition we established years ago. Lately we’ve been bringing in the next generation , the guys with kids in thier twenties are inviting them to join in with their buddies etc. Long story short these kids cant keep up with us. Is it the fact that we are supermen walking the earth like jolly green giants? Prolly not. Is it the fact that these kids are a product of the age? I dunno maybe.

Suffice to say I would rather have one of my old fart buds than some wide mouthed buck watching my 6

Way to go Boss Hog.
Me too. I will have a bunch of older hunting buddies and some young bucks to boot whenever it goes down. Hell man, I have the best of both worlds, so to speak and the younger men keep in tow in getting exercise that I hate at my age.
We older Gents who have been around the block or two have plenty to teach and the younger crowd has new ways of doing things. It is important to listen to them as they should listen to us. If you have that communication I tell you it something that is a treasure.
When I was introduced to MUD BOGGING I was in for a surprise. This form of being “Macho Redneck” style was a real learning experience. Everybody had a truck and some had BIG tires and Big engines with super chargers that would sling mud high into the air. We would always pick the worst mud hole and banter on who had the baddest truck. Sometimes bets were made but you could be sure it was an all night event. Being out in nowhere we didn’t bother other people. The other side of the coin was that you never knew what could happen. When one got STUCK, there would be various ways of pulling him. Snatch ropes, chains, high jack, sand bagging and come-alongs. Every truck had there chance to pull them out. To the point we hitched two or more trucks together in some cases. Sometimes more than one truck would be stuck in the same hole. It was cold,, hot or it rained and the Mud and Water was deep and high. The bugs were biting. But nobody went home till we all made it out. Was alcohol involved? Well ;0).
Did we have close calls where a person could have been injured? Yes. Before I go on let me say,” If you gonna be stupid, you better be tough” The damage inflicted upon the vehicles was at times extensive. Smashed fenders, tie rods broken, shocks broken, transfer case and differencials damage, drive shafts broken and even blew up an engine or two. We all made it home in any event.
What is to be learned from this? O.K. just a bunch of drunken rednecks, doing stupid things. But I knew I would not be left stranded. We overcame self inflicted consequences. We all had a story to tell..
Boss Hog. You are truly fortunate to have some good people around you. In my case with my hunt camp, we are family. If anyone needs something or help, they will find it. Our women folk are country and we hold them in high esteem. They get dirty too if they choose to go mudding with us.
Over the years, (20 plus) we have had visitors come for a stay at camp. You can tell the weak ones as they never come back again. Hahahaha! I am glad the trees can not talk.
Wishing you a good hunting season. I am a hog Hunter. Busted a few over 300 lbs.

Tried this out during a run to town this morning ! Found some daycare nurturers, garden workers, perimeter guards, woodcutters, garden pest controllers, two nurses in scrubs, and the rudiments of a fire team, if their presence at the local gun shop means anything.

Only one car looked like losers, some tattooed illegals hanging out in front of the convenience store.

There’ll be enough factors weeding out people when it comes down to that, not going to be necessary to decide who makes it and who doesn’t ourselves.

A couple/few weeks ago on Survival Blog a guy went 1 week doing the level of activity and eating the sort of calories he’d planned for a bug-out situation. He lost over 10 pounds in that one week. How many thin people can afford to lose more than 10 pounds? SHTF doesn’t end after the first week, it gets worse. Those who are well-larded but have been working on their cardio and muscular strength may well out-last the people you would have chosen by their looks. So, fellows and gals, if you are fat, don’t despair, just do what you can now to be ready to take up where your trimmer neighbors leave off a few weeks after SHTF (FWIW I really don’t advocate planning to live on others’ efforts, but someone will have to).

Be Informed, BRAVO, ANOTHER EXCELLENT ARTICLE! Nothing in it I can dispute. One thing I’ve learned in all of my years of prepping has really stood out: there is no such thing as having too much information on survival. Learning is a never-ending process in the life of the individual prepper/survivalist. Mrs. braveheart sold me on the idea of prepping in our first year of marriage. I already knew something about prepping for power outages and tornados before I even met her, but when she started teaching me how to prep for hurricane season in FL, I didn’t know what I was in for. the first hurricane we went through as a married couple really opened my eyes and I learned a lot. Even after I lost her, I continued with the idea of prepping and surviving adverse situations. I started listening to shortwave radio in the 70s. the only publication about prepping/survivalism in those days was Mother Jones magazine which I avoided because of its leftist content. I was thrilled when American Survival Guide magazine came out in the 80s and used to have every issue until they discontinued and went online. I started listening to programs on shortwave like Radio Liberty with Dr. Stan Montieth and Radio Free America with Tom Valentine plus Freedom Call with Bo Gritz. For a great many years those were my only sources for info on survival-related subjects and good, credible info on what was really happening in the nation and the world. that was the beginning of the alternative media and it’s come a helluva long way since then. Didn’t learn computers until 2004. I don’t regret being a prepper for 1 minute. I don’t regret having critical thinking skills and knowing how to tell good info from propaganda. It’s essential to always be willing to learn new info on any and all survival-related subjects. The more you know, the better your chances of surviving any extreme situation. I do go to other prepper sites on occasion to learn all I can, but this site is still my home. braveheart

American survival guide was the best, I did’nt know they went on line, and will have to look that one up. I still watch ebay for back issues that I am missing though. This website here, and others like it are kind of the replacement for that magazine. Daily articles that are very informative and thought provoking, just like the one from Be Informed just did. There just are’nt enough green thumbs for this.

It depends on how much you have brought into this “No Worry Society”, as to how much you prepare. There are a few things I could do better but the threat level is low.
Does it all boil down to how much a person can do without? Myself I tend to gravitate to the Nuts an Bolts way of life. Sure the high tech is nice but are they really dependable. I am North of you and Hurricanes we both have to deal with and you would be surprised how many are still not prepared.
I have been here posting at SHTF for a short time. I want to ask your opinion. Does it matter what we say?
Is anybody listening. Are they preparing? Just how many are we reaching? Is it worth the time?
My first intention here was to get an idea on how people react to certain stimuli. I was not disappointed.
Yet with all the info here it is only a small crosscut of the nation. Even smaller when you take into account that the hits at any tread are refreshers. Even smaller are the “shares” of any article.
My conclusion is, that even with the robust exchange on this site, we are at levels that should be higher. I considered OPSEC but it is still lower considering all that is happening. We should be at higher levels but with the assault upon or rights at all points it is extremely low as to the correspondence at this site. Or any other Patriot site. That indication is a self destruction, by ignorance of our liberties.
Well, Braveheart. I am only a HS graduate, redneck with some street smarts.

Don’t worry too much- there are a lot of other sites, each with their collection of followers. There are enough people involved to have gotten the attention of national media (even if it is just to demean and slander), and to keep those retailers who try to meet their needs in business. There are people who also do all of this while never reading any websites nor participating in any forums. Judging by the 1970’s cookbook that got me started, it is a deep tradition in this country and since 9-11 many more people have reawakened to the ideals of self-sufficiency. Watch, pray, prep and reach out to those in need who are of like mind.

No matter who or how. God is in control and he is especially in control of his own. He will never forsake you or leave you. Manna from Heaven? You bet. What ever resources you have when SHTF ,if your being led by God no need to worry. The great provider will take care of his own. Prepare as much as possible and let God do the rest! Because the endtimes are here.

Christians still starve to death around the world. Stockpile food. Believe in miracles but don’t rely on them. God will take believers to heaven after they die but there’s nothing in the Bible to convince me that believers will be miraculously provided for after the collapse.

Buying up and stocking food and survival items is very important. Also, maybe more important is learning what you can get from mother earth in an emergency, because you can be relieved of all your possessions easy enough by people with evil intent. Nature is full of food and medicine sources if you just learn where they are.

I was just reading about a man that went into the Maine/Canada area wilderness around 1913 naked carrying nothing and lived several months, coming out wrapped in a bearskin. Tells you everything you need to know about survival. If he can do it, you can too.

Infidels-r-us, I think I’ve heard similar stories, a man that went into the Maine/Canada area wilderness around 1913 naked carrying nothing and lived several months. That’s inspirational as all get out.
On the flip side, Geronimo and his band couldn’t hack it in Canada in the Winter and had to give up.
There’s a lesson there and in-between.
Not only that, some win, some don’t.

You are correct. Some win. Some don’t. But wouldn’t you rather be in the winning group? Anything you can learn about primitive survival can make a difference whether you die or not in a SHTF. Just sayin. 🙂

Wasn’t Geronimo from a more southerly area? I can only find reference to him as far north as Oklahoma and before that fighting Mexico and the USA in the southern border area.
Be that as it may, the only way you make it in the wilderness is to know YOUR wilderness (the one in which you take refuge) before you get there, and be sure that the adaptation to that climate, if different from where you now live, won’t be a bigger threat than what you are fleeing.

Ugly, it’s quite possible the 95% sooner or later will over-power the prepared folk. AT the same time, hunger makes the unprepared weak, and stupid, and all that.
So I guess what I’m saying is, it’s a horse race.
Nobody knows who is going to win.
So far, it’s not looking so good for the so-called, ‘Masters-of-the-Universe’. People are catching on, don’tchya know. Time will tell.

In total darkness I’d have all my windows completely covered so no light escapes. I’d use candles for light. There’s no way I’d use a generator because you could hear that from a long way off.

The 95% have to know who the 5% are, where they are, and be in a position to overpower them. Where I live, there are a lot of hunters. People will be killing small game for food and cutting down every available tree to cook it over. There are a lot more people with guns than food so a lot of those people will kill each other first.

Still, if God doesn’t protect those who’ve prepared I don’t know how many will survive.

If they are cutting down trees to burn, they don’t understand about seasoning wood. Maybe they won’t know not to burn it in your house without ventilation? Some of them will burn charcoal inside too- the 95% will whittle themselves down with naive mistakes as surely as by violence and hunger.

But let’s hope for better. Let’s hope that 5-10% more are semi-prepped and have a williness to be useful to / band with other survivors. The prepped 5% can’t always make it in isolation. Community is they key to long term survival and creating something worth surviving for.

Well, bottom line, no electricity. To prepare for a major EMP or CME event, I think is the best practice. We been doin for bout 2+ yrs and what an hard but rewarding journey. First it cost lots of $$$$$, an that aint no fancy stuff. Obviously the more we have learned we see how much more there is to learn. We’ve prepped for so many different scenerios. We’ve gone back on a number of things to make improved changes that we thought were perfect at first. The biggest single accomplishment is my stay-at-home-mom wife’s garden. Just to say its big and doin good. Oh, and I’m responsible for our heard of chickens. We’ve acquired quite a bit of… things. Some cons: Organization-just ok. Logistical plans depending on whatever-needs work. Mentally-it can get tiring. Sometimes its like, come on, somethin happen. Biggest prob, already committed, tellin to much info.

GDawg, your comment about, “The biggest single accomplishment is my stay-at-home-mom wife’s garden. Just to say its big and doin good.” That is soo cool. Reminds me of a scene from Easy Rider where the bikers are sitting around a table, probably much like your own. It’s just about the pinnacle of success, imho.

This was a gem too, “We’ve gone back on a number of things to make improved changes that we thought were perfect at first.”

My how that’s hard for many to accept. For some, it’s worse than missing your turn-off on the Interstate and having to turn around. Your comment helps me to not feel so bad about my own need to make improved changes. I like that outlook. Thanks.

And I’m surprised you blended this one together, they are two totally separate things:

13. No protection, no law enforcement.

The ‘no protection’ part, well, that’s to every person and a natural right, I don’t see how that can be taken away except by tyrants.

The other half, ‘no law enforcement’ – again, that would be a blessing.

The rest of your article made sense. It’s not always true that the strong will survive, or the fittest will survive, a lot more of it has to do with critical thinking, training, wits, luck and divine providence. And of course, preparedness.

I like your list of prepper websites, Be Informed. Here’s another I’ve been reading, backdoorsurvival.com

Law enforcement hasn’t been ‘protecting’ anyone in this nation since as far back as the 1950s. Except for protecting their fellow jackbooted thugs and helping to cover their butts whenever they’ve committed some kind of atrocity against a private citizen, of course.

Oh, and in such a WROL situation – we should all recall how a certain problematic ethnic group behaved during the LA Riots and during Katrina, and that is a pretty good indicator of what we can expect once they realize that the kwaps are not going to respond to 911 calls.

And, remember – the owners of the mainstream media and Hollywood have deliberately been cranking out movies like “Machete” and “Django Unchained”, with the objective of intentionally fanning the flames within specific minority groups who already have a well known lack of impulse control and who have a propensity for violence and criminality.

And, who do the owners of the mainstream media and Hollywood wish to position inside the cross-hairs of these predatory and violent minorities?

thats good, but its going to take WW3 and an attack or nukes hitting US soil for that to come to US cities for anything more than short periods of time.

i mean greece has been in a depression for 2 years now and lights and toilets still work there for most everybody.

imo, whats most likely to happen is state and federal governments continue to clamp down on everyone but the elite with taxes, regulations until enough people are so dependent that it can do anything it wants like confiscating gold, guns and 401ks from those who still have something left without worrying about an uprising because those dependent are willing to let that happen to keep the country going, then the US rights itself economically and keeps things rolling but now its russia or china west with the people firmly under its thumb.

Hey, lena. You might be right. Or, it could turn out like Detroit, where the lights haven’t been working? And the toilets may soon cease to work for some?

I’ve read some stuff from people who live there and they say things are pretty good without all the government interference. They’re left alone – have to deal with things themselves – and depend on neighbors. It’s staring to sound attractive.

When you say, “then the US rights itself economically and keeps things rolling” I say to myself: “Self, how could the uS right itself economically to keep things rolling?”

I answer: “There ain’t no way, no how.”

To clarify: the macro gets trashed, the micro succeeds.
That’s my take on the stock market taking a dump and bonds going for a dive. YMMV, I suppose.

I imagine those areas where they’ve made super improvements to the streets and sewers, but the jobs aren’t there to support such… I wonder how the state and federal governments will continue to clamp down on everyone but the elite with taxes, regulations? I mean, if the people can’t pay, they can’t pay. There’s many places like that in the ussa.

Yes! I have thought so too Lena, based on what I saw from the end of the USSR when I was there as an exchange student. Mostly lights stayed on, TP got rougher and rougher and harder to find and food got very expensive, but no widespread riots, no civil war. THe only thinkg is that I believe those in charge here want to bring us to that violent brink and are bewildered that it hasn’t come to pass; not only with the games they’ve played to anger conservatives, but the race games trying to inflame different minorities to violence. We’re all more intelligent and peacable than they once believed. It’s going to take a majorly produced false flag complete with Hollywood special effects and maybe some human sacrifices to get their “Revolution” started. Even then, I have a feeling no one will really want to play along.

Too many of the masses see a nest egg as phantom assets that are electronics and what you can purchase with that egg. Trouble is that nest egg has absolutely no guarantees that it will be there for when you need it. This is especially true off banking hours, which could be extended indefintely with a banking holiday or just something that shuts down everything.

A true nest egg is something you can get at 24 hours a day, everyday of every year. Pity the person that doesn’t understand this. I thought that maybe instead of a drawn out long article, just listing 50 quick horrors of what those that have not prepared will almost certainly be lacking could have more long lasting impact on those preppers/survivalists that are trying to convince certain family and friends, even associates what it will be like. Just a copy, paste and print of these 50 awful everyday things almost all of us depend on might help some people see the light. How important it is to prepare for what is eventually coming, even for becoming some nomad if the situations warranted it.

As mentioned above there are many others losses after mega SHTF or even just SHTF, but 50 is enough for most people to just maybe give a second thought to, not taking emergency preparedness seriously. Not living life like some kite, always depending on the wind to always be moving and always keeping you aloft from falling to the ground.

Thanks BI for another insightful and well thought out article. For once while going down a checklist such as you obviously have spent a lot of time and effort in I was happy to see that although there is more work to be done I probably scored an 85-90% preparedness in my assessment of my preps. Of course there are so many scenarios out there I don’t think anyone can ever be 100% and thus the preps continue and will have to make do when the time and selected scenario arrives. Thanks again.

Great article BI, really enjoyed it. Mental preps and skill set along with some fudamental equipment and food should be the order of the day. Unfortunatly its not its drama with kim and kanye.

Those of us that see the storm comming have/are prepping full steam ahead and knowledge and skill development are at the forefront of my preps.

Im an expert marksman according to the USArmy but since the gun grab started I have not been shooting as much as I would like. Lately I bit the bullet( nice pun)and splurged on a few hundred rounds to get comfortable behind the trigger again. It was expensive and a sacriffice but I feel empowered knowing that Im ready to take care of business if it comes to find me.

I have actually lived through this sort of event. I would like to add it is possible to not only survive but to recover but there is a price that is paid. In short, the following will get thrown ‘under the bus’ as society recovers:

– obese, fat, lazy people are toast. Nobody will have patience for them and they will not be able to live their lives of gluttony because getting every calorie is precious and hard.

– same goes for the severely disabled, people dependent on expensive drug or treatment regimes, or the mentally deficient.

– most men after the age of 40 become a complete waste of space. Often, they are unable to compute the scale of the disaster and paradigm change and so they hit the bottle and get heavy into self-pity. Most of these guys then start to die off around age 50 or so.

– it is a great time to be between the ages of 18 and 30. These are the people who utterly thrive in such a situation. Their youthful energy is a prized asset and gives them a tactical advantage. The fact they have no other understanding of another time means they adapt quickly to the new circumstances and make the most of them.

– women and teenage women: The role women play in society radically changes. If the woman is married and in her 40s, then her husband is dead to the world. This means she becomes the main income provider and family supporter. These women are strong and adaptable. Past their best physically and sexually, they often end up running businesses. Teenage and young women become highly prized for their beauty. The smarter ones use their sexuality to bargain for wealth, education, opportunities for travel etc. This cohort of young women become the next generations high achievers and wealth creators. They are extremely canny and, if they survive through the crisis, are robust characters. The whole dynamic of sex will radically change in this situation and many people of a conservative persuasion will not be able to handle it. Sex is power and a commodity of exchange and this will be used widely. Get used to seeing the powerful men in their 50s with an 18 year old on their arm as they strut around town. And don’t, don’t say a word because that guy will have you rubbed out if you do the whole morality thing with them. For many other older men with no economic power, the radical changes in sex relations will be too hard to handle and they will get severely depressed and turn to substance abuse.

@Frank… While I agree with most of your characterizations and I see you qualified your “over 40” comment with “most”. Be careful generalizing about people over 40. My wife (late 50’s) can outwork any ten young women and knows more about growing and preparing food than anyone I know. I’m in my late 60’s and I can still wield a Stihl 660 for 8-10 hours (hard on my back though). I work hard and mind my own business but I can guarantee anyone that tries to “throw me under the bus” will get a whole face full of whoopass. I drink, smoke cuss and chew and it might be wise to remember something I was told many years ago… “never pick a fight with an old man… he’s likely to kill you”

Amen Archivist. Most of us are over 40 and as Crabbe says ” never pick a fight with an old man…”. That’s because we know when not to shoot off our mouths but do know when to shoot. We didn’t live this long on hand outs.

You really do have some strange ideas about people. Do you really think that men are going to want to get his “relief” from someone who passes her crotch around to support herself? Especially when there may not be any available antibiotics to give them relief from the VD?You need to get some information about dying from VD. Old women may dry out, but there are other ways to satisfy their man.

Frank, you’re assuming the I-crowd of 18-30 will easily adapt to the new 1820’s lifestyle. I think you’ll easily see an equal or higher amount of suicides among them. Adaptability to that type of extreme from where they are now will be unimaginable for most of them. If you’re born in 1820 and know nothing else,you don’t miss what you never had. If you’re used to a comfortable life and then have it rudely taken from you for the rest of your days and replaced with working hard all day every day for a subsistence life, you may not feel so agreeable to the new order of things.

I am not obese so I am not taking anything personally, but concerning fat people, they are carrying on their bodies a store of energy like a ground hog gets in late fall before they go in the hole for the winter. These fat people may outlive you if you both are subjected to the same environment. I believe you can live approx. one day on a pound of fat so one of the 400 pounders could potentially live for a while. Where is my Cheetos?

To everyone here,I have caught wind of China preforming military exercises just like what we our military is doing here in the US and plans to come collect thier money that we owe them and if they dont get what is owed to them we are to serve them as slaves whitch they think sould be done thanks to our crinimals we have running our state.Sorry to get off topic people.

My daughter stopped by the house this past weekend on her way back to her place from the beach. Along with four of her friends, they landed here for supper consisting of skillet fried chicken, fried tomatoes, deviled eggs, potato salad, fresh sliced tomatoes, green beans cooked down in bacon drippings. Desert consisted of chocolate chip brownies and lemon bombs (glazed). Prior to supper being served, my daughter had me take them all down to the chicken coop to show them my chickens. I gave the five of them the basket and told them to go and pick up the eggs. They asked many questions regarding the keeping of chickens including, ” are we eating some of these”? I then asked them if they would have a problem if they were. They surprised me when they all said “no”. I then told them that I did indeed put eight of the original flock in the freezer and have eaten some of them already but they weren’t eating any of them today. I got quite a lot of questions when they saw all the canning jars in my garage (new ones) and I explained about how we canned veggies and meats, etc. They also were inquisitive about my wife frying up the chicken and bombed her with questions. These young ladies were city girls (my daughter being the exception) and even though I didn’t get into the subject of prepping, I tried to instill in them the importance and need of self reliance. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I feel I’m about as ready as I can be. With help from divine providence we’ll make it.

50, you have some really good points. I believe you got some thumbs down do to what is missing.
Most of us on this sight see the hand writing on the wall. I for one will never allow anyone or thing steal my joy, peace, and zeal for life. That said; one can work for a pay check, in the food industry, and be out a job without notice. When countries collapse, everyone is at risk.
Most on this sight are good people that’ll help those in need. At the same time, what we are facing foremost is tyranny. Read up on Russian and Chinese history and the millions that starved to death.
I, like many here, will not compromise my God given rights and calling to be enslaved.
Now prep with for the right reasons and know history and our enemy.

Awesome post by BI. Have been a little complacent with prepping efforts lately, but this review got me going again.

Now, to Frank Thoughts: Be careful about your age generalizations. Sure, most guys I see that are my age look like crap, guys who have been desk bound all their lives, and have abused themselves with booze and crap food. But I am 63 and as fit as I was when I was 25. I don’t drink, use tobacco, and stay completely away from junk food, not to mention TV and stupid computer games. My old man was a farmer, worked his ass off until he was 89, and could out work most younger men. He would have made it to a 100, but got knocked off a 20 foot ladder and banged his head, which did ’em in.

There are a lot of old coots like me who grew up living off the land, shooting our own food, living by kerosene lights at night, splitting stove wood, fetching spring water, and, of course, using a good old outhouse. Not such a bad way to live, really. So for some of you who think you have those skills, even though you have lived in the city all your lives, you might want to consult one of old dudes who has been there. If the grid went down tomorrow , would simply be like old times for me. But you see, this is precisely why I prep. To live in such a basic way means to have the tools and the skills, both physical and mental. So you gotta stay sharp and stay in shape. It is why I regularly go to the range, go hiking and camping and keep life pretty basic. One last point. Given all the crazy stuff going on in the world today, one could simply say “what the hell” and just give up. But I prefer to create our own reality. In our house, no TV news, no talking heads. No radio talk shows.

Rather, we read, and read positive stuff, including refreshing our minds with prepper type books. We do our best to keep spiritually fit, and we hang with like minded, positive people. We also keep very physically active and fit, with no time to be morose or depressed. Maybe some could say that my wife and I are foolishly optimistic, but fact is, we only have today. Worrying has never done anyone any good, and is a complete waste of time. Besides, if you are a good prepper, what is there to worry about?

Who cares !! How many YEARS have these denialists had to wake the F up ?
The Titanic can’t sink, the Nazi holocaust never happened and countless other wrong calls throughout history.
Why waste your time with people who live in dreamland. Look after your self and those you care about.
The others have had every opportunity to learn, wake up and prepare.
How many times do I have to say it – survival of the fittest !
Prepared = fit, unprepared = screwed.That’s nature. That’s reality.
So be it. Move on !

JEWS DOMINATE OUR LIVES through their control of wealth. The basic principal of Jewish dominance as stated in the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is, “Permit us to issue and control the money of a nation and we care not who makes its laws.

But, and as you acknowledge, many are not so wise and are a total mess, physically, financially and mentally. Those people will be screwed.

You make a great point about surrounding yourself with a good team: there is almost a fascination with some people in hanging out with drama cases and dependency freaks (a badge of ‘honour’ to say you have been addicted to drugs, done time in prison etc.). People worship and admire the wrong people.

And your point about TV is spot on: when I last watched TV in Canada, I couldn’t take it: it was wall-to-wall crap and the presenters seemed stupider than I have ever known them to be. The commercials now don’t even try to be witty or slightly intelligent and just shout at you to eat fatty food, take your meds and snap up the latest 2 for 1 offer.

If all that happens in near future is a Great Depression followed by recovery, then everyone on this blog site will do just fine.

But, what we are talking about is a dollar collapse followed by civil unrest, civil wars, and a world at turmoil. The entire World is linked to the dollar. We are talking severe turmoil in World and USA that will be in biblical proportions.

That type of preparation will take some elevated skills on the category only known by those that have been thru it. It will take the skills of a Navy Seal type and beyond.

Keep talking and providing good ideas, and good luck to all.

As said before, I hope this is just all paranoia. But as time goes on, I do not think so. Something big and terrible is on the horizon….

After it hits the fan, if you’re not prepared you’ll starve to death, die from drinking bad water, or be murdered by roving gangs. If you’re a young female you’ll kept as a tribal prostitute by those gangs. If it’s winter in the north you’ll most likely freeze to death before you starve to death. If you’re a prepper you’ll have to defend yourself and your family by any means necessary. I expect to shoot anybody who tries to break into my house. You’ll also have to deal with the screams of people down the street when the gangs attack them. Depending on their location I plan to sneak up and shoot a couple of them in the back before I retreat back to my house.

A whole lot of people will survive just look at darfure or Somalia. They’re alive but what a fucked up way to live. People have a choice Somalia or something better. Most will probably go the somalia route. The pygmis in our society seem to really gravitate in that direction even today.

Somalia and its MUSLIM warlords–quite a vacation spot! Girls are sexually abused, non-Muslims are locked into shipping containers for days and weeks at a time, drugs and piracy rule the day.

With the proliferation of violent flash mobs and rising number of home invasions, and the lack of concern from the Repubes or even the middle class is perplexing! Is it possible that millions of morons are too drugged (even SSRI compounds are dispensed to kids in grade school)?

Many good comments regarding planning for SHTF situations.
The posting is truly accurate and thought provoking.

I am a firm believer that families need to bury the hatchet,come together,forgive and I mean brothers/sisters/mothers and fathers and develop a family plan to gather to share resources at a pre-destinated location. Some may have to erect tents on family property. There is security in numbers. Additionally, there is moral and mental support if this is possible. May not be practical in many cases, especially if nuclear weapons have been used.

We need to remember that in the worst case situations as discussed,bad Guys/girls have weapons, perhaps military training and probably won’t take prisoners. If it is impractical to join with family members: After the initial shock,then recovery, establish a neighborhood defense plan because gangs will eventually arrive in numbers and armed. Will be past time for speaking with lips. Need a new method of conveying your opinions and thoughts without using the spoken word.

Part of operational security. Don’t tell no one what might
be in your house. Speak in abstract terms as if undecided. Act dumb and let them laugh at you. Act as harmless as a dove and be wise as a serpent.

Some people have blogged that at night it would be unwise
to have lamp lights on in the house. I tend to disagree.
Houses are going to be hit whether lit or not. Not many people who have weapons have or can afford night vision devices. There are flashlights used by law enforcement
that are extremely bright and will blind, surprise an intruder and then use defensive firepower.

I would cut down every bush that is along the perimeter of the house or yard. BG’s can use that for cover to shoot or throw fire bombs. Anything that crosses the perimeter, shoot.

I would have a fighting position in the attic reenforced by sandbags. There is an advantage in height. I would sandbag the lower half of the windows and put chicken wire over them.

I concur on your train of thought,
Qu
” Need a new method of conveying your opinions and thoughts without using the spoken word.”
Ie
Like with 175g SMK through the forehead of the one who looks like the leader, then pick off the rest as able.

The trees around the house are all getting chopped, both because they will be valueable as firewood and also for opening up view corridors.

Having a plan for hardening your domicile for ballistic protection as well as fire resistance and breech will be priceless.
Counter measures,
Punji sticks come to mind, and barbed wire simply pulled from the roll so as to make a big slinky,
Im already searching out as much old fence wire as i can get.

Someone that I know in real estate asked me if I wanted to see something interesting. I went with her to this one particular home. There was a good-sized outbuilding, we went in and she lifted up something on the floor exposing an underground room. It was made of cement and the interesting thing was that on the cement wall was something (don’t know what you would call it) which you would use to tie up someone. It was high enough up the wall where the person would have to stand if they were strapped to it. The point I am trying to get to is, has anyone thought about keeping prisoners? Has anyone purchased handcuffs, etc?

Meaning if your camp or site catches someone trying to raid you, you can hold them, hopefully if they are important enough to someone, they may make a deal with you. They may also be holding someone you care about. One of the previous posts suggested holding a female for sexual favors.

“The following list exemplifies just how much a person has to lose if they have failed to prepare themselves for emergencies.”

I wish more people would realize this and start making steps to be more self-sufficient. So many of the conveniences people enjoy depend on the power grid, which is aging and very vulnerable.

The American Society of Civil Engineers recently published a review of our national energy infrastructure, which includes oil and gas production/distribution as well as the electric grids. It received a D rating.

“Our world-class economy and modern society cannot be sustained with our current infrastructure.”

“infrastructure in poor to fair condition and mostly below standard, with many elements approaching the end of their service life. A large portion of the system exhibits significant deterioration. Condition and capacity are of significant concern with a strong risk of failure.”

Smart Grid Library dot com

“The power grid has morphed in size tenfold during the past 50 years. While solar flares, cyber attacks, and an EMP are perhaps the most extensive and frightening threats to the electrical system, the infrastructure could just as easily fail in large portions due to weather-related events.

The power grid is basically a ticking time bomb which will spawn civil unrest, lack of food, clean water, and a multitude of fires if it does go down.”

Well,prep the best with what I have,help others and try and steer them in the right direction.I realize in these challenging economic times tough to stock up for many,just get a few bags rice/beans/a few cans a week,anything helps and buys breathing room(rotate out stock before it becomes too old to be useful).A basic first aid kit with antibiotic cream ect.,would suck to die from infection of a otherwise minor cut!The smalls can all add up if you have the desire to live!As I have said before,will help anyone I can and have come to the conclusion will probably be dead before out of stock,the reason being I will not just witness atrocities that may happen such as murder/rape ect.(hope it doesn’t but am realistic),cannot just watch such things happen,if lucky can perhaps stop and survive but will not bet on it but am comfortable with this decision.I cannot see the point in surviving at all if not willing to step in if needed.Live for today,prepare for tomorrow.

Older products like mayo, tartar sauce etc. will separate if kept too long. It then does not look too appetizing. I have found that lemon concentrate will eventually turn to vinegar if kept too long. The brand that lasts the longest, that I have found, is Real Lemon.

i tend to think along ralphie’s line..i’ve lived in the intense cold , heat, mtns, jungles, what-have- you.. a boy scout , so be prepared was more than a motto. got a smattering of skills, kinda dinged up , but i’ll be here till i go.
I see plainly a trajectory of events, all the future shock elements in play, and damn, it’s gonna be a wicked comeuppance when all the chickens come home to roast.
y’all realize all the nuke plants would become ticking time bombs and the talk about mankind always gonna be here is speculation.
if god saves you thats just dandy, more higher power to you.
i reckon it’s going to end up being the situation where the survivors will envy the dead.

I wanted to add this site as article mentioned adding good sites,; http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/ ,the owner Creek who teaches outdoor survival skills ect. has many good articles on common household items one can use in challenging times,worth a look as you may already have these items in your home.Live for today,prepare for tomorrow.

Good post….. basically what you’re saying is,
welcome to the Middle Ages, which almost no one
is remotely prepared for mentally or physically,
even those of us who are aware of what must be
done to survive.

Maybe friend Peterson can lodge us at his harbor
of refuge since he seems to knows the best route
to survival and the wherewithal to maintain it.
Yeah… lets hear it for Pete!

The one issue I have with this article is that the author missed that we are already in a SHTF situation.

Since BHO has been “red dawned” into the White House, we all have been branded as terrorists, the NSA has been tracking us/listening into our conversations, gun sales are at an all time high, Uncle Ben keeps devaluing our money, drones are flying, Homeland has bought God knows how much ammo and guns and BHO has signed countless Executive Orders which shred The Constitution.

Good point. We’re at April 1991, USSR. Wages are down, prices are up. What did the Soviet citizens do? They gardened; stocked up on food when they could get it, pickled and preserved it; got clothes and barter goods as they were available,and in general anticipated what was to come as best they could.

Go watch Satori’s link above. We’re where the first trickle of tide has come into view. Looks like no big deal and that those rushing off are overly cautious. I couldn’t believe it 17 minutes in and 20 had me thinking about every-day carry items. That’s a good video to awaken the surivor in one’s soul.

Sorry so many were offended by my thoughts. Keep in mind: I was describing what happens to society post shtf. It was not a comment on a society pre-shtf.

It was based on first-hand experience and what was documented as human behaviour in an extreme crisis. We no longer live in tribes scattered across prairie plains. We live in urban and peri-urban environments spread out in concentric circles from the centre. Such a society degenerates in a special way.

Society reforms – or malforms – depending on your perspective, in a way to fit the post-shtf environment. It means roles played by men and women are altered because there is no cushion of prosperity in place. More base human appetites come to the for and exchanges are driven by the necessities of life. Sexual relations are just one thing that gets a radical change, like it or not.

All of these behaviours are observable across human societies in their settled form.

It is a good idea to try and imagine how the terrific stress will affect each of us. Some will totally lose reality and pretend that it isn’t really happening, freeze up, or go completely hysterical. How will we be able to control out-of-control people? We wouldn’t want to shoot those we loved.

The Daily Treasury Statement for Aug. 12, released Tuesday afternoon, says the debt remained stuck at exactly $16,699,396,000,000 during the first 12 days of this month, now at exactly 87 days at the same figure..?

The biggest thing nobody is talking about is cannibalism. Cannibalism is prevalent in starving societies. It’s talked about in the Bible:

(2 Ki 6:26-30 NIV) As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my lord the king!” {27} The king replied, “If the LORD does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” {28} Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ {29} So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.” {30} When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and there, underneath, he had sackcloth on his body.

When the gangs run out of food they’ll kill people for food. It’s one of the horrible things that’s coming.

JayJay- there are many examples in Anno Domini:
Colonial Jamestown in the early 1600’s; the Donner Party; the famine in Soviet Ukraine in the 1930’s led to the conviction of 2500 people for cannibalism; the 1972 crash in the Andes Mountains; recent reports from North Korea… need I say more? These are linked to starvation, there are many more A.D. examples which are linked to sheer evil.

As for the Bible :
“Cannibalism is mentioned several times in Scripture (Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:53-57; Jeremiah 19:9; Lamentations 2:20; 4:10; Ezekiel 5:10), but in each case, the practice is regarded as a horrible curse and inhuman act of desperation. Moses and other prophets predicted that, if the Israelites forsook God, they would fall into such awful degradation as to cannibalize their own children. These harrowing prophecies were fulfilled during the siege of Samaria during the reign of King Jehoram (2 Kings 6:28-29). Cannibalism was the physical horror which accompanied the spiritual horror of apostasy.” from: Gotquestions.org

Actually, historians documented the cannabalism during the seige of Jerusalem (66 to 70 AD). Mothers boiled their infants, maybe even ate the placenta. The Judeans in the city were preppers, too. But there was vicious fighting and warfare among the factions in the city, and they burned their own stores of grain. North Koreans might even be eating their own children. We will never get the full story from the Commies…

kudos BI. Essays like this are reason I stop here a couple of times a day and share this site with like-minded others. Back home when there were too many deer nature culled the herds through famine and disease. Too many people….

The big reset will be ugly, but is necessary to save the life of the soul of this earth from which we came. It’s all about balance.

We saw the writing on the wall back in ’07 when I noticed the packaging of food shrinking and being relabeled as “new and improved” while the price didn’t change or even went up in a few cases. Thankfully the DW is fully on board and together we have been preparing for what we see as a very uncertain future since the winter of ’07-’08.

Since the offer was made, I would like to share a site I came across in ’09 and have been an active member ever since.

I’m in the group Ralphie lists that’s over fifty and been around the country block several times .
In my early years, my large southern Appalachian family raised most our food on the 11acre parcel that remained of my grandads farm .
We hunted, trapped furs, kept several bee hives .
Put up the garden veggies in fruit jars and stored them
in the root cellar under the house .
Hogs were butchered hanging from the black oak outside the back door .
Keeping extra on hand was normal .

So was the electricity going off and staying off .

I can’t understand this crowd of people who do not keep extra on hand .
Nor be able to find a good reason to do so .
Or showing up on this site arguing with anyone who finds it wise to always keep “extra “.
Great great article Be Informed .
Been busy experimenting with various tin can stoves made from coffee cans, soup cans . And using these wax/cardboard filled tuna cans as fuel .
Dropping one tuna can with wax inside a rocket stove boils water in less than five minutes easily .
God bless one and all out there
NOMI
Mission

@Canuck waving a hello neighbour
Lived on the Rock several years attending MUN .

Got a large free helping of parafin wax this past spring from a dumpster .
Been busy assembling candles in old glass jars
an washed and saved tins .
Have now assembled three types of rocket wood stoves from tin cans .
Now I’m using the cans inside the rocket stoves filled with wax and coiled cardboard .
Very little smoke and a very hot fire .
must be smothered out by snuffing with a slightly larger can though .
Never add water to burning wax …
Take care
Mission

@22Mission….and a big wave back to you!! I looked at different stoves made from the large and small tins, but never attempted to make one….will look again now that you seemed to have great success with yours….

I have a can sealed well with soaked cotton balls(in Ziplok) in my car and BOB with other types of fire starters.
I checked a few weeks ago and they were still wet :-); will vacuum seal them now that I have a sealer.

@22mission: Can kinda get nostalgic about them days, cept for mid- winter nights running to the privy. As a Virginia boy originally, we had some good apple trees too. Favorite time of year was always fall. Nothing like the aroma of smokehouses, and nothing like a peanut fed smoked hog to go with some turned cider chilled at the spring house.

Grew up in Georgia. Ralphie . Used to say one of my favorite jokes was that I always thought my family had more money than our neighbors cause our outhouse was two holes .
I want to somehow say we had it better then .
Least we all never worried about exercising .
Just remembering how sweet the cool water tasted from the back porch well and the clank of the chain pulling it up .
Was amazed to discover soon after starting school that the Civil War started almost 100 yrs ago . They talked about it so much on the front porch I used to think it musta ended right before I was born …
Take care
Mission

Been experimenting with all kinds of homemade heat Jayjay .Got a room I don’t heat in the winter . Aiming on trying mass thermal collecters like terra cotta pots and sand over some of these various wax candles I’ve been making .

Discovering lots of great how-to videos on YouTube on homemade heat .
As I’m living alone on the cheap, I find delight in learning something every day .
Today’s lesson was always wear gloves handling cut tin pieces .
Luckily I only gashed my fingertip .
And I covered it with one regular bandaid .
Hope your tomatoes are healthier than mine .
Too much rain here .
Take care
Mission

I have tomatoes I stuck in my pea gravel flower bed.
Huge tomatoes as I learned a trick from another site.
Every 2 weeks, 1 tb of powdered milk and 1 tb Epsom salts mixed with a gallon of water.
Calcium and magnesium. Beautiful tomatoes still coming.

The problem with most of these armchair collapse scenario quarterbacks is they generally leave the the U.S. Military and reality behind. Listen… the instant collapse occurs, all the political charades end and the people with the guns are suddenly in charge. Whether it’s the LA riots, Egypt, or countless other “collapse” events, civilian militias and organized militaries can turn the lights out on the politicians any time, and don’t give me any of that “oh, but they have smart weapons and technology crap” either. What’s coming will be epic, but get the Mad Max fantasies out of your head and do something constructive. When push comes to shove, there are far more good people than bad people in and out of military uniform in America who will fight with the strength of 100 men to right the ship and restore the Republic.

What a load of nonsense this article is. If a ELE occurred there is nothing anyone can do! Who would want to live in such a dismal world? No available dental maintenance alone would be enough for me to ice myself and move on.

What nonsense this article is. You people are trying to avoid the unavoidable, ELE. Save your money and grow a garden to eat your food, or just die already. The sky is falling! So what if it is? There isn’t anything you can do about it in 2013. Live your life the best you can today and tomorrow will take care of itself.

100 years ago most people in the U.S. didn’t have any of these 50 things you listed on your list. This is not the end, it is the beginning of what is to come anyway. It’s not important to have any of these, what is important is to have some one else with you that will stand with you to survive these things. Even today, if you go to a third world nation, just go south(Mexico)(Our Neighbours) if you need to experience it for a few days, and people are surviving with the help of others. And in the case with this article it’s stupid because even with an ELE what were the people involved in the tsunami in the Indian ocean back in 2004, able to do? Nothing! Well over 250,000 people exited the world. If something horrible is going to happen, it will, and there is nothing you can do to prevent it. You can guess all day about how you will die, but who wants to live like that?

Being adaptable is what is going to make or break a lot of people in the coming collapse.

I have seen people who are so set in their ways that they don’t look at what is going on around them. Things change. Situations change. One plan isn’t going to work for all scenarios. You have to be able to think fast and react fast.

Keep abreast of what is happening in the world. Keep your nose to the ground, don’t draw unnecessary attention to yourself. Dress to the same level as those around you. Don’t give anyone any reason to suspect that you have more than they do.

The ability to blend in and play the role of “we’re all in this together” will be the difference between life and death for many.

RE: tuna can stoves-wife and I make these for preps. We cut strips of corrugated cardboard and coil tightly inside can. When saturated with 91% isopropyl alcohol, will burn long enough to heat canned food over, and will fit in a folding sterno stove or home-made coffee-can stove. You can also fill with melted paraffin, place a wick in the center made from small piece of 100% cotton t-shirt, burns a long time and can be fed with 1 inch cubes of wax.

Best tinder for starting with ferrocerium “flint” firestarter–cotton balls saturated with Vaseline, stored in a 35 mm. film canister or pill bottle. They burn for at least 5 minutes each. Best campfire starter–paper egg carton filled with dryer lint or waste cotton (we live by cotton fields, during harvest time cotton bolls line the roadsides like snowdrifts) and melted paraffin–these are separated and used one “cup” at a time. Each will burn 10-15 minutes and will start a fire even with damp wood.

Waterproof matches–when I was a kid I used to collect pine pitch from injured trees, melt it down, and dip the heads of my “strike-anywhere” matches. They will strike through the pitch, and burn like a torch for twice the time.

Here is the real secret, and it’s not the one proclaimed in a recent movie or book, yet it’s the ultimate tip to survival: it’s not about how you die, but how you live. You have been born and died before, and will do it again, in other times, places and situations, so quit thinking this time is different. Your mortality is coiled around your body, not your spirit.

Live each day as if it were your last; it will drive home the reminder that your sojourn here is precious. Remember to savor what is right and good.

Stop waiting for death, it will find you when it’s time. Every age has had its “chicken little call outs” foretelling the end of mankind and civilization. Guess what? If it happens, you are along for the ride, so make a difference in someone else’s life today, and give this incarnation the power it deserves.

You were born at this time in history for a reason, and it isn’t to sit back and watch American Idol. Forget about finding a location that will be “safe” and make the effort to be a change agent in your own corner. Step up to the plate and make a difference. Everything that you do in this life impacts each and every incarnation, past and future, in ways that remain hidden to ordinary understanding.

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